Another month, another sign-stealing scandal to deal with. That seems to be what the NCAA is going through at the moment. Back in November, whenever the term “sign-stealing” came up, it was in connection to the Michigan Wolverines. But come December, it looks like the Wolverines’ biggest rivals could take center stage. That’s right. As the NCAA is investigating “unauthorized access” of practice footage, the Ohio State Buckeyes are on the receiving end of allegations. Even more so now, after what a former Maryland Terrapins coach had to say.

It all started with a confession by Alabama players in the build-up to their Rose Bowl game against the Wolverines on New Year’s Day. They revealed they weren’t allowed to review practice film on their individual devices—footage distributed by software company Catapult. And the latest confession from the Terrapins camp could increase the scrutiny on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The Maryland Terrapins were the “victims” of the Buckeyes’ alleged operation

Who would’ve thought Rose Bowl week would turn into a week filled with investigation? Back when the Michigan Wolverines were under scrutiny, there were rumors that Ohio State HC Ryan Day was involved in the investigation. While he was cleared of any involvement, his team is slowly becoming the focus of the current investigation. Per an unnamed former Maryland coach, as revealed by Blue Blood Bias on X, an Ohio State staffer in 2022 “allegedly accessed Maryland’s practice video database, which included all offensive/defensive signals that the Terps had practiced that offseason.”

The Buckeyes “kept logging in weekly to view our practices,” which went on for quite some time. That was until the Ohio State Buckeyes offered the film to the SMU Mustangs, one of the opponents set to play against Maryland. Thereafter, the Terrapins HC, Mike Locksley, confronted Ryan Day, who promised to fire the staffer behind it and sort the issue out.

This came after Catapult conducted an internal investigation of its own and, per a statement they released, they “have not found any security breach in our system.” According to reporter Dan Wetzel, “The investigation is not centered on Michigan but rather on at least one other school.” The Ohio State Buckeyes now find themselves in a spot of bother as the scrutiny will likely increase after the Maryland confession. But even before the confession, there were ominous signs that the Buckeyes were in the middle of a conflict of interest with Catapult.

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The Ohio State Buckeyes could have an in at Catapult

The Michigan Wolverines already paid their dues when they were caught in the sign-stealing controversy. Their HC, Jim Harbaugh, served a three-game suspension after the Big Ten came down hard on the Wolverines. With these new allegations against Ohio State, interesting news regarding the Catapult camp has surfaced. Turns out, the software company has employed two people who worked with the Buckeyes for more than three years – the former Ohio State Director of Football Video and the Assistant Football Video Coordinator.

Both of them are now senior engineers at Catapult, making for a serious conflict of interest, considering the company harbors data directly from their rivals. And as it so happens, Ohio State’s biggest rivals even brought forth this connection a few months ago. While not much heed was given to Michigan back then, these reports will certainly be looked into as the NCAA investigation progresses.

This alleged scandal is making for quite an interesting story. Do you think the Ohio State Buckeyes will be found guilty? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

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